as in complainer
a person who is often or always worried about being ill
My brother is a real hypochondriac. Every time he reads about some new disease, he thinks he has it.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hypochondriac
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
8 Sep. 2025
While hypochondriacs can tell you the names of the people staffing the emergency department as easily as the names of their kids, primary care also has a meaningful frontline role to play.
—
Hal Rosenbluth,
STAT,
17 June 2024
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
1 Aug. 2025
In the new film Hot Milk, the sensual but diffident 20-something Sofia (Emma Mackey) travels with her invalid mother, Rose (Fiona Shaw), to the Mediterranean shores of Spain in search of an experimental cure for the latter’s (possibly hypochondriac) illness.
—
Erik Morse,
Vogue,
26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for hypochondriac
Noun
Reviews were mixed at the time, but that deep-dive into the widening mental abyss of a hypochondriac playwright (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) has only grown in esteem over time.
—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
8 Sep. 2025
While hypochondriacs can tell you the names of the people staffing the emergency department as easily as the names of their kids, primary care also has a meaningful frontline role to play.
—
Hal Rosenbluth,
STAT,
17 June 2024
Adjective
Olivia Colman will appear in Pride and Prejudice as Mrs. Bennet, Lizzy's hypochondriac mother.
—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
1 Aug. 2025
In the new film Hot Milk, the sensual but diffident 20-something Sofia (Emma Mackey) travels with her invalid mother, Rose (Fiona Shaw), to the Mediterranean shores of Spain in search of an experimental cure for the latter’s (possibly hypochondriac) illness.
—
Erik Morse,
Vogue,
26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for hypochondriac
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hypochondriac
Noun
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Instead of pushing through pain and not speaking up for fear they'll be labeled weak or a complainer, this generation is more inclined to listen to their bodies, advocate for themselves, and address the issue through the proper resources.
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However, the Lakers are complainers to begin with and have always gotten a favorable whistle.
Adjective
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Her mother, Pattie (Alli Mauzey), is ludicrously hypochondriacal, as if atoning for the chromosomal accident that produced her quick-aging child.
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Many women with myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune neuromuscular disease first named in 1877, were misdiagnosed as mentally unwell and dismissed as hypochondriacal well into the 20th century.
Adjective
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The Dodge became disabled, and the troopers arrested the driver.
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Homeless residents, many of whom don’t have a car or are disabled, now have to travel outside of Skid Row to get stamps or mail a package.
Cite this Entry
“Hypochondriac.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hypochondriac. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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